Xmas malware frenzy

Hackers are shamelessly exploiting the festive season to spread malware.

A Christmas-themed jigsaw puzzle game called Christmas_Puzzle.exe doing the rounds is actually a Trojan (Ardamax-E) that uses rootkit technology to hide its presence on compromised systems.

Meanwhile a PowerPoint file named Christmas+Blessing-4.ppt uses an IE vulnerabilities to deposit malicious code on vulnerable Windows boxes. The exploit has been embedded in an innocent Christmas-themed PPT slideshow that's been circulating on the net, security firm F-Secure notes.

F-Secure has also received a malware file - named Christmas.exe - which displays a Christmas-themed image as a decoy for its real purpose, turning compromised machines into compromised zombie PCs under the control of hackers.

Not all this festive malware is related to Christmas.

F-Secure notes that a new Warezov spam run is underway which uses a "Happy New Year" postcard as its disguise. Windows users who run the infected attachment will find their PCs running malware that downloads a new variant of the infamous Warezov Trojan.